Mean Words
by Avatard.2112
Summary: When Aang returns with a new friend, Katara faces a mean person with even meaner words. KATAANG. Read and Review!


**Heylo Everybody! SO basically I wrote this piece of poo today and I offer it to the internet. Um that's about all I have to say. Oh wait. No never mind I forgot. Sorry about all the errors, my computer wasn't working so i had to type it on my phone and Google drive sucks on that thing. Also the pacing in the middle is basically dog feces but hey. I tried.**

**[edit] It has been brought to my attention that this story is very similar to a teen titans episode. MY BAD. If anyone feels I should remove it, please IM me or leave a review. I am really sorry about that. I used to love Teen Titans and I feel terrible.**

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_Take me to church_  
_I'll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies_  
_I'll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife_  
_Offer me that deathless death_  
_Good God, let me give you my life_

Her fingers sifted through the soft sand that circled around her head. She could feel the small grains shifting to her soft movements. With every breath she took, she could feel the earth move below her.

The sediment underneath her was warm from a mixture of her body heat and the sun's powerful rays of light. Even with her eyes shut tight, she could feel the heat of the sun penetrating her eyelids and lighting up the darkness that accompanied closing her eyes.

All she could hear was the rhythmic crash of water against the soft, yet somehow strong sand. Despite the constant battery of its shore, the sand would never yield to the mighty ocean that pummeled it with the weight of the world. The forces were equal, even with the uneven odds.

A humid breeze blew across her exposed cheek bones and swirled around her tender pink lips. She licked her chapped lips as the wind disappeared and found that she could now taste the air that had just flown above her. It tasted mostly like salt, but if one searched hard enough, there was also an essence of something else.

Something that didn't belong here. Something that wasn't sand, or ocean. It had its own unique identity and she tried to identify it in vain. Her face scrunched in effort to distinguish where she had tasted it before, but her mind drew a blank.

Before she could ponder the strange yet familiar taste any further, a soft thud landed beside her. A thud wasn't a good word for the noise. It was more like a bird dropping onto the clouds. It was as light as air.

She didn't need to open her eyes to see who had shifted the earth on which she laid. For he had done it before, too many times to count. He had pulled the earth from below her feet. He had heated the flame of desire in her heart. He had created a storm that tossed the waves of her being around. And he had taken her breath away before she could even say a word. He was her everything without saying anything.

Even though they had been together for five years, he still had the ability to make her question what she had done to deserve such fortune. What had made her so special that she received the most sought after gift from the most idolized man in the world.

Her eyes peeked open into the bright sunlight so she could see him again. Every time she looked at him, she felt as if he was waking up in her arms again, staring into her eyes as if there was nothing else besides them.

Although when she looked at him now, he was not a lifeless heap of boy that he had been all those many years ago. He sat with his knees propped up and his elbows resting on their platforms. His face was nestled in the tangle of his long arms and his only facial feature showing was his stormy gray eyes. They scanned the horizon as if deep in thought.

She bore her eyes into his side, trying to memorize every detail, so even if he was gone, she could always have him in her memory.

Suddenly his silent gray eyes flickered to where she laid in the sand. As soon as they hit hers, they lit up with a new beauty, as if a veil had been pulled away from his sight. His whole head followed the lead of his eyes, and she soon found herself looking sideways at his cocked head. A crooked smile played on his lips, but with his head to the side, it looked a bit odd and she let out a light giggle at the sight of it.

Then, as if instinctively, her hand that had just been wiggling through the sand rose into the air. Her slender fingers stretched to reach his sideways smile and just before their skin made contact, his own hand grabbed hers.

She could tell that he had been in the water recently because his pale hand was slicked with he grabbed her hand, she could feel the hard calluses that lined his fingers. Yet despite his hardened skin, she could also feel a softer and more tender skin in the middle of his palm. With her thumb, she traced this smooth piece of flesh and followed the lines that gave his hand identity.

Suddenly the hand maneuvered out of her light grip and drifted toward her face, touching her skin so softly that it felt as if it was part of her, and not him caressing her face. The pad of his thumb circled her cheek as it gradually moved closer to her lips. The tiny hairs on her face rose in response to the butterflies fluttering throughout her body.

After what felt like a year, his hand finally streaked over her overly sensitive lips. The spark jolted her eyes open and she stared at him as he moved closer and closer.

She could practically feel his magnetic pull as both of their faces moved in unison. Her wide eyes fluttered shut as she prepared for the collision. But it never came.

Instead an annoying voice pierced her eardrums.

"What are you doing Katara?" Came the mocking sound of Sokka. Her eyes opened once again and instead of face being an inch from Aang's she instead found a fluffy pillow hugged up against her body.

As the dream dissipated she found with horror that she was actually in her own bed and Sokka had caught her making out with a fluffy piece of fabric. She would never live this one down.

"Wow. I'm definitely going to need therapy to unsee that." He muttered in his usual sarcastic tone. She rolled her eyes before she sat up from the cozy sheets that had been a paradise moments ago.

"Unless you want to see me change, I would leave!" She said as she made her way to the closet on the other side of the room. At her words, Sokka's face contorted into one of pure disgust and a shiver racked his body. He jumped towards the door and as he left he chuckled out a few parting words.

"Don't worry! I'll make sure Aang hears about his competition when he gets back today!"

A blush spread over her cheeks as she thought about what would happen if Aang found out. Luckily Sokka had no way of knowing exactly what happened in her dream state, and she had no plans of giving up that sacred information.

But despite Sokka's annoyingness, she couldn't stop smiling.

Aang's was coming back today. After three weeks of having only a pillow as company, she would finally have her air bender back.

The thought sent her hopes soaring and her heartbeat sped up as she thought about how she would welcome him home. Hopefully at least one of her dreams would come true...

An excited giggle escaped her mouth and she had to force the thoughts out of her mind before she could accomplish anything of meaning. She decided that she would wear something nicer to impress Aang when he got home this afternoon.

Everything would be perfect. Well almost perfect . There was one little problem.

He wouldn't be alone.

While in the earth kingdom, he had met a man who was appearently important enough to be brought home wih him to meet his friends. He had written a letter talking about it two days ago.

Jealousy coursed through her veins at the thought of sharing Aang, but she pushed down the anger and instead focused on the happiness that had been going through her before.

Aang would be home.

...

She tapped her foot impatiently as she searched the skys for anything that faintly resembled a giant sky bison. Her hands were hugging her body, despite the summer heat that pulsed around her on air temple island and she couldn't stop fidgeting.

"Could you stop being so loud with that panic attack, Sweetness! I'm getting a headache from all the tapping..." Toph mumbled angrily as she lounged on a rock a couple feet away. Her eyes were closed, but the annoyance was clearly written in her expression.

"Sorry... I'm just worried... He isn't usually this late and-"

"He's fine. Geez. Just stop being such a worry wart. It's making you look crazy." She interrupted in a peeved tone

"I look crazy?! Maybe I should change... Do you think it's the dress? Is it too much?" She rambled until Toph's obscene gesture cut her off.

"I'm blind. Remember?" She muttered before blasting up from the rocks and stomping away. For a moment Katara felt bad about running Toph off, but that moment was short lived because a second later she heard Suki's joyful voice chirp from one of the nearby windows.

"He's here!"

Instantly Katara's mind went into over drive and she started freaking out once again. Her shaky hands flattened out the crinkles in the blue fabric and she straitened her posture into one that was more flattering on her figure. After fixing her dress, she ran her fingers through her combed hair, making sure the strands were placed just right.

But her efforts were made for naught when a tremendous gust of air flew through across the earth and disheveled everything.

The wave of wind was followed by the huge thump of Appa's landing.

When the wind that whipped around in the aftermath finally died down, she found herself looking at those magnificent slate colored eyes. Except it wasn't a dream this time.

Throwing caution to the wind, she sprinted towards those beautiful gray eyes with no reservation. Upon seeing him, moisture had blossomed on the brim of her eyes and it hadn't stopped flowing since he had landed.

She was just about to crush him in an embrace when a second body jumped down from Appa and landed directly in her path to Aang.

The sudden obstacle caught her off guard and she found herself without enough time to stop her steps. Instead of colliding with the man of her dreams, she instead tackled the newcomer and literally knocked him off his feet.

He toppled to the ground with a grunt and scrambled around for a second before he could find his way back onto his feet. She held out a hand to help him up, but he had refused her gesture and instead used earthbending to lift himself from the dirt.

"I'm so sorry! You- I was so excited and- oh geez!" She hastily apologized as she brushed off the dirt that had accumulated on the man's green clothing. A rough hand grabbed hers and pushed it away from him in a surprisingly forceful manner. Caught off guard she looked up into his eyes and his expression shocked her into muteness.

It was full of loathing. Pure unobscured hate.

"Don't touch me _squaw_." He hissed in a low voice that was only audible to her. The abhorrence in his voice stung and she had to look away from his terrifying stare.

But it wasn't his stare or tone that cut deep. It was his words.

"Katara! I missed you so much!" The jubilant airbender's words awoke her from her trance. She looked past the man and saw Aang running in her direction. He had a huge smile across his face and his eyes shone with joy. He easily sidestepped the man and pulled her into the hug that she had been dreaming of since he left.

But instead of finding relief and comfort in his hug, she only found confusion and hurt. The man had shocked her and she had completely forgotten about how much she had missed Aang. All she could see now was the man's hate as he looked at her.

When Aang finally released her, he looked as if he was going to say something, but he was cut off when the man cleared his throat behind them.

His eyes flickered in the man's direction and he took a step back so he could introduce them.

"Katara, this is Senyu, the leader of a charity to help restore homes to those affected by the war. Over my stay, he became my greatest friend and advisor and he wanted to meet you guys." He smiled as he spoke, and she could tell that he truly admired Senyu. Maybe she had been wrong about the hate in those green eyes... Maybe it was just the way the light had been playing on his face...

But despite the effort to convince herself, she couldn't deny what he had called her.

"Nice to meet you!" She said as pleasantly as possible. She even smiled in a sweet way to emphasize her kind demeanor. As she spoke, she could see Aang's eyes watching her and she could practically feel the unadulterated love pulsing from his stare.

She knew the real reason he had brought the man back then.

He wanted Senyu to become their friend. Her friend.

But even from a distance, the distaste was still there. Maybe more hidden, but still present. And that word could never be erased.

...

"I don't know about you guys, but Senyu is my kind of guy." Sokka exclaimed in a happy voice.

After everyone had come out and greeted Aang and Senyu, they had all gone out to lunch to celebrate Aang's return. It had been fun and everyone seemed to love the newcomer, embracing him wholeheartedly into their little group.

But despite his kindness to everyone else, she had found that Senyu had not received her with the same warm welcome.

There were little things that alluded to his prejudices, small but clear.

When she spoke, he seemed to zone out as if anything she had to say was pointless. When Aang tried to show her any sort of affection, he distracted him with a cool trick, or asked him to help him with something. When she asked to try his food, he said that he was extremely hungry and needed all of it. But of all the actions against her, the worst was how he referenced her.

Instead of calling her Katara, he instead referred to her as "squaw".

Nobody really noticed his name for her, but she heard it clearly every time the word rolled off his tongue. The name pierced like a knife every time it was spoken, and instead of fighting it, she chose to try and ignore it.

Ordinarily she would have pummeled the guy into a million pieces, but this was different. Everyone loved him. When he told a story, everybody, even Toph, was captivated from start to finish. When he made a joke, the whole room exploded with genuine laughter. When he demonstrated a bending move, everyone cheered for him.

Everyone but her.

As much as she hated him, she couldn't bring herself to burst everyone's enjoyment. Above all she couldn't hurt Aang like that. Every time he looked at her, he looked as if he would burst with happiness. Maybe it was his happiness that made him oblivious to the cold treatment that Senyu had been giving her.

What ever it was, he never seemed to notice the pain that was being inflicted on her. And she kept it that way. He deserved this bit of happiness.

When they finally got back after lunch, Aang had suggested that they go down to the beach that surrounded air temple island.

"That would be fun, but someone needs to stay behind and unpack the bags and feed Appa." As Senyu spoke he pierced her with his stare, and she knew then what he was suggesting.

"No, I will stay behind... You all go have fun." She said in her best attempt to hide the crestfallen mood that had overshadowed her. But once again she knew that for the sake of Aang's happiness, she needed to yield to Senyu's demand.

"But Katara-"

"It's okay, Aang really. You deserve this." She said without looking at his eyes. If he saw what swam in her own irises, he would surely never leave her alone. He would gladly sacrifice his new friend for her, and she couldn't allow that. With a steady hand she pushed him towards the group that was starting to walk towards the shore.

She didn't look up until she could no longer feel his lean arm in her hand. But the moment her eyes flickered at her friends, she only found one set of eyes still looking at her.

Senyu's intensely green eyes practically bragged his victory in her face with a heavy dose of condescension. After all, he had won Aang. And gotten rid of her.

She stared back at him until he finally turned around and the whole group disappeared around the bend and were blocked out by shrubs and trees. The moment they were out of sight, her fake smile dropped from her face and it was replaced by a sad frown. The only light on her horizon was the fact that Senyu would not be here long. And she clung to that bit of hope like it was a life raft.

Eventually he would leave.

And so would his hateful word.

Turning slowly she started up the steps that led to her home. The walk was tiring and long, but the solitude gave her time to ease away the painful wounds that plaqued her emotions. Every step gave her more comfort, and soon all the hurt of the day had all but vanished.

With a heavy hand, she reached up for the metal handle on the door. Pushing it down, she opened the door and made her way into the dark house. She knew without looking, that everything was already unpacked and Appa was already fed by the acolytes.

The whole excuse had been a ruse to keep her from coming.

So instead of doing the chores, she went into the quiet kitchen and started pulling out some ingredients for dinner. Before she knew about Senyu, she had planned on a date night with Aang, but that plan was out of the question now.

Her best chance of seeing him now would be across the table as Senyu degraded her without anyone even knowing. It would be miserable.

"I thought you were supposed to feed Appa or something?" Toph's voice broke the silence and sent her jumping into the air with surprise. When she finally realized who stood in front of her, she lifted a brow in question.

"Why aren't you at the beach with everyone else?"

"I hate sand and water. The combination of the two repulses me.." She said as she picked up an apple from the counter and crunched into it loudly.

"Oh..."

"And I figured my favorite squaw might be lonely." She said in a sarcastic voice, paying no attention to Katara's reaction.

The moment the word left Toph's lips, she bristled in a mixture of shock and anger. She expected the word from Senyu, but Toph saying it was completely unacceptable. The numbed pain came springing back to life, fresh and burning.

"DON'T EVER CALL ME THAT." She screamed at the dumbfounded Toph. Heat rolled off her body in waves and she had to restrain herself so she didn't do something stupid.

"What's your problem, sweetness?" Toph defended herself.

"My problem is that word. It's bad enough that Senyu is constantly belittling me with it, but you have no right. You are supposed to be my friend!" She exclaimed on the verge of tears.

Suddenly realization clouded Toph's features, and an emotion that rarely showed on Toph appeared. Guilt.

"What exactly does it mean, Katara?" The fact that Toph used her real name was enough to prove Toph's seriousness. For a moment, she debated on telling her, unsure if it would help or hurt the situation. But in the end, she decided that someone needed to know.

"It... It is a term that means-um a woman, who is- useless... savage... But-"

"WHAT? And you have been letting that lowlife call you that all day!?" The anger was back in Toph's voice but it was no longer along the lines of annoyance. It was disgust. Whether for her weakness or Senyu's cruelty, she was unsure.

"I-"

"I will seriously crush him with a rock. AND YOU NEVER SAID ANYTHING!? This whole time I thought is was some kind of nickname!" A scowl had taken up permanent residence on her face at this point and the ground shook with her frustration. Katara had never known that Toph cared so much about her. It was kind of touching.

"But-"

"We need to tell Aang. He needs to know. He is going-"

"NO!" Katara screeched. She couldn't let all her efforts go to waste.

"What do you mean 'no'? Aang has no idea that this guy is torturing you like this. If he knew-"

"He can't know! If he finds out, he will be so upset. I can't take away his new friend like that. It would be worse than the word." She said sadly meanwhile Toph looked as if she might pick up a rock and try to knock some sense into her. But instead of protesting, she turned away and stalked off towards her room.

"I won't tell Aang, but I can't promise that I won't blast him into another nation if he calls you that again." She threw over her shoulder before slamming her bedroom door.

A sigh of relief shook her body at Toph's consent, and her whole body relaxed. She hadn't realized that she had been so tense until just now.

She looked over to the ingredients laying out on the table and decided that she was no longer in the mood to make a huge dinner. She needed a stress relieving nap. Hopefully full of dreams that would eventually come true.

...

A soft murmur tickled her ear as her face pressed into her warm pillow. The sweet voice moved like honey, trickling through her body and filling her with delicious heat. A tired smile spread over her lips as she reached up to find the owner of the sugary words.

Her hand landed on a soft cheek, and what felt like a mouth. The lips moved against her palm and lulled her into a happy daze. After what felt like a lifetime, the words travelled to her ear once again. But this time she actually heard them.

"It's time to wake up, sweetie."

Her eyes opened slowly to find Aang looking down at her with an adoring look tinting his silver eyes. She smiled dumbly before sitting up, and bringing her face into his range. Moving her hand off his lips, he pressed a tender peck to her forehead before standing up.

When she moved to get up, she realized that her window was still dark and her hand now had traces of sand on it. She blinked in confusion at her disorientation.

"What time is it?" Her voice cracked with sleep, and he smiled at her inability to speak correctly.

"It's still night time. We just got back from the beach and I was hoping you would come eat with us." As he spoke, the memories of the day came whirling back and a sick feeling settled in her stomach. She didn't want to eat with Senyu. She couldn't. And she was about to voice it, when her stomach spoke for her, releasing a low growl.

Aang took this as confirmation, and gently lifted her from the bed. When she was standing, his gray eyes searched hers and she did her best to conceal her pain from him. But it obviously didn't work.

"Are you okay?" His voice with deep and full of concern as he held her closer in his arms. At that moment she wanted to confess everything. But seeing how much he cared about her made her remember that she was keeping it from him for a reason.

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?" She said with a fake smile. He looked unconvinced, but she distracted him with a quick kiss before he could question her further. Only it wasn't a quick kiss.

Maybe it started that way, but it quickly transformed into everything that had been gone for three weeks. Their lips seemed to be glued and passion flowed between their locked lips. He tasted like the saltwater and a musky scent that could only be described as Aang. She pushed further, letting the kiss intensify. At some point his hands had somehow ended up in her hair, and they were now tangled hopelessly, while her fingers dug into his shoulders, full of need. His lips formed words and letters that were incomprehensible, but still filled her heart with love. Her fingers skated across the fabric and up towards his neck. The moment her fingertips hit his skin, a whole new desire exploded in her stomach. His neck was hot beneath her fingers and in certain places she could feel his blood pulsing beneath the pale flesh.

"Eh-hmm." The sound sent Katara to the opposite side of the room in an instant. She looked up to find Senyu standing in the doorway watching her with disgust. Meanwhile Aang looked a little annoyed but still happy to see his friend.

"We are waiting to eat. They sent me to come get you. And by they, I mean Sokka." Senyu spoke directly to Aang whose face was blushing from the intimacy that had just been interrupted.

"Um we were just about to-"

"Sokka is out there, so if we don't hurry, there won't be a dinner left we when get to the table." Senyu said, speaking as if he had known Sokka for ages rather than a mere day.

"Ok, sorry!" Aang apologized even though they had done nothing wrong. He reached for her hand but she slid it away from his reach and pretended not to notice. He started to walk away expecting her to follow, but she just shook her head. Once again he looked as if he wanted to speak, but whatever he was going to say disappeared when Sokka's angry voice echoed down the hallway. With one last glance, he left the room. Leaving her alone with Senyu.

"Come along squaw, and try to keep your hands off the avatar." He gave her an apathetic glance before he too left.

For a few moments she just stood there, trying to gain her composure. She wanted to cry. Or scream. Or both.

But instead she gathered herself up and moved towards the dining room.

The moment she entered, she saw that everyone was already seated and eating without her. The place where she usually sat, beside Aang, was occupied by her nightmare, so she instead sat next to Toph and Suki.

Everyone chatted gleefully about the beach and their awesome sand sculpture contests and such. At one point Senyu whispered something to Aang and he burst out laughing. Besides the loathsome sidelong glances, it was almost bearable. She didn't even mind too much when Sokka told everyone about her pillow love session, which made Aang grin like a fool, and her face turn bright red. It was all fine until Senyu needed her to pass a bowl.

"Pass the sea prunes, squaw." She tried her best to ignore his wording, but Toph visibly tensed beside her. Her face turned into an angry red before the bowl of sea prunes was blasted into the air and landed right on Senyu's head. The whole table grew quiet as everyone stared at the mess on Senyu's head.

He looked beyond murderous as he stared at Toph and then her. A fire burned behind his green irises before he stood up and knocked the bowl off his head.

"How dare you." His voice shook with a threat. But beneath his warning was a promise that he would make her pay. Although what happened next was even more surprising than the flying food.

"How dare _you!" _Toph fired back as she shot into the air. Meanwhile Katara just sat with wide eyes, staring at them both. And she wasn't the only one.

Everyone watched in confusion as Toph hurled another bowl of food at Senyu's head. He ducked this time, but the message was still clear.

"What's going on?" Aang said as he stared at the unfolding events. He looked increasingly puzzled as he tried to figure out what was happening.

"I'll tell you what's going on. YOU ARE STUPID." Toph yelled before hurling the moon peach in her hand at Aang's face. Now Katara was confused. What had Aang done? She would have asked but Toph's angry eyes had now found her small form.

"And you. You are the dumbest. I'm done playing this charade. Tell Aang, or I will." Even though her eyes were clouded with blindness, she felt like Toph was looking right through her.

"Tell me what?" Aang's smooth voice came from across the table.

Katara looked up into his eyes and found that the gray was full of a concerned fear at what she had to say. Toph was right, he needed to know. But she couldn't get the words out. They seemed to be stuck in her throat and the harder she tried to speak the more they alluded her.

"Ok fine. I'll tell him. This brick face over here" she gestured to Senyu, "has been calling Katara a derogatory name this whole time. And she's been hiding it from everyone. At her words, Aang's face contorted with disbelief and his head swiveled back to her for confirmation. When she wouldn't meet his eyes, he knew it was true.

Suddenly the air in the room fell twenty degrees and the candles flames grew until they almost reached the ceiling. The water in their cups froze over, and the ground seemed to tremble beneath their feet. When she looked up, she found that Aang was holding Senyu up by his collar and hissing something that could only be a threat to the shaking man. Then he dropped Senyu, and it took all of three seconds for the man to dart out of the room.

"Well, glad that's cleared up!" Toph exclaimed happily despite the outrage that was still plastered on Aang's face. She stood from the table and left the room then, followed quickly by Sokka and Suki. Leaving her and Aang alone.

"Why didn't you tell me?!" He practically yelled at her. She could hear his attempt to keep his calm, but it was failing quickly.

"I couldn't ruin your friend. Everyone loved him so much... And you looked so happy." When she spoke, her voice shook and his eyes that pierced into her seemed to soften. Now he looked down at himself.

"I'm so stupid. I should have known. I should have never brought him here. I should-"

"Don't! It was my fault! I just wanted you to be happy." At this point there were tears falling from her eyes and she couldn't possibly hold them back any longer. All day they had been on the edge, but only now did she let them actually break loose.

He looked up and saw that she was crying and in a flash he had his arms around her. Holding her together desperately.

"Katara. Don't you understand how much I love you. Just the thought of him saying those things about you makes me want to do things that no monk should even think about. You mean so much more to me than some guy that tells good jokes and stories. As much as I liked him, I love you a billion times more." He whispered the words into her ear softly, and slowly her sobs quieted and her body stopped shaking so much.

"I'm sorry, Aang." She muttered into the wet piece of tunic that she had been crying against.

"Don't be. Don't ever be sorry." Then he gave her a kiss that seemed to capture all her sadness and insecurity and throw it out the window. Everything seemed like it was finally going to be okay.

"Aang." She mumbled against his lips.

"Mmhmm?" He replied without breaking contact.

"I love you." And she meant it with all of her heart.

At her words he finally pulled back and looked down at her thoughtfully before replying.

"I love you, too." He murmured before a wolfish grin spread across his face.

"What?" She exclaimed in a slightly shaky voice.

"I was just wondering how serious you and your pillow got while I was gone..."

* * *

**Corny ending for a corny story. You are welcome. Actually that word is a for reals derogatory word so don't go calling your mother that. Its from the Inuit language meaning woman in a a pretty mean way. DON'T SAY FANFICTION NEVER TAUGHT YOU ANYTHING! Uh... Review... Please? :)**


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